Zuma was further quoted as saying “When priests pray for poverty to end and for development, then it means God agrees with the ANC because the ANC stands for those things,” and “We in the ANC know God. When the ANC was born, it was baptised. We have respect, we are beautiful, we conduct ourselves in a good way.” Notice how easily anyone can speak on behalf of a non-existent entity. Notice how easily the self-praising lies flow of the tongue.

As a cynical believer you might want to question why god, who once threw his weight behind the former apartheid government, has now changed his allegiance. Or, you may also wonder why god has abandoned the multitude of religious political parties that are also contesting the upcoming South African general elections, to favor the ANC. And the cynical believer might rightfully conclude that god in his wisdom somehow approves of corrupt politicians and inhuman political systems. As a cynical non-believer you, like myself, might conclude that god (and by extension, religion) is simply the most powerful tool in the hands of power-hungry zealots, manipulated with contempt to coerce and enslave.

Self-interest is the hallmark of politics (and politicians) and religion serves self-interest very comfortably indeed.